Maputo, 20 Jan (AIM) – Mozambique’s Competition Regulatory Authority (ARC) believes that the government’s decision to impose a state monopoly on the import of grain, particularly rice and wheat, will eliminate competition and innovation, introducing serious systemic risks to national food security.
According to the government decision, grain imports, particularly rice and wheat, will be the exclusive responsibility of the Mozambique Grain Institute (ICM) in order to “combat practices such as over-invoicing, illegal currency outflows and duplication of invoices in the importing of these products.”
According to the ARC statement, which analyses the government decision, “there is a risk of total stock shortages and an environment conducive to inefficiency and corruption” if the import of grain becomes the exclusive responsibility of the ICM.
“This constitutes a high-intensity intervention in the operations of the market. It is likely to eliminate competition in the import market, create economic dependence for downstream operators, and establish a dominant position through regulation, with potential negative effects on economic efficiency and consumer welfare”, reads the document.
In order to avoid a future crisis in the country’s food security, the ARC calls for alternative measures and less restrictive instruments, claiming that the government’s model. in addition to eliminating competition and innovation in the import market of the commodities concerned, introduces serious systemic risks to national food security (risk of total stock shortages).
It added that “the government’s decision may place the Mozambican State in breach of international trade agreements, and fosters environments conducive to inefficiency and corrupt practices, causing direct harm to consumer welfare”, reads the document.
According to the document, since this is a matter of economic sovereignty, the government’s decision should not have been taken through a decree by the Ministry of Economy.
“The structural reconfiguration of a market for essential goods and the imposition of restrictions on the exercise of private initiative are matters of economic sovereignty that, due to their magnitude, national impact, and restrictive nature on constitutional rights, exceed the regulatory competence of a simple Ministerial Decree”, the ARC claims. “If the monopoly on the import of grain is maintained, strict sunset and transparent criteria must be implemented”.
(AIM)
Ad/pf (365)
